


A Good Listener

by herbailiwick



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: F/M, Menstruation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 10:32:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11400759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herbailiwick/pseuds/herbailiwick
Summary: Talk of menstruation and pregnancy. (Started July 9th, 2015.)





	A Good Listener

She mutters it across the comm link first, frustrated, thinking about how he’s her friend, not necessarily about how he’s her doctor. Of course he tries to call her in. She says no, not yet. Maybe it’ll start up again. He gives her a little knowing _look_  the next day, and it’s kind of cute, but it’s more annoying. They’re sort of taking a break from each other, cause she’s kind of found he can be described that way a lot of the time too.

Spotty bleeding makes her excited, as much as bleeding there sucks no matter what. But it means there’s still possibility for that type of motherhood. She knows there are many types.

She’s had irregular menstruation for a while. Menstruation is a little further between for Trill than for a Terran, but not by too much. It’s been 8 months. That’s long, even for her. 

She lets him run some tests next time she brings it up, which is in his office when he’s about to take a break. He’ll do it, for her, forgo his break easily. Actually, he’d do that for nearly anyone as long as they weren’t intentionally trying to control him.

“I feel like I’m letting Jadzia down,” she admits over chilled gagh she’s merely picking at, which is...what she normally does with it.  


“You aren’t!” He exclaims. “Jadzia was _very_  understanding.”  


“But she’d still be disappointed. She and Worf,” Ezri sighs, leaning her head to rest in her hand.  


“You could never disappoint Jadzia, Ezri,” Quark said, and she sat up straight again.  


“You busy?” Ezri asked. He shook his head, gaze intent. She kicked the third chair out.   


“What seems to be the trouble?”  


“There’s no ‘seems to be’. She hasn’t menstruated.”  


“Ah,” Quark says, blinking. “Lady problems.” He looks away for a moment, but then slowly meets Ezri’s gaze. “Womb problems, I mean. But...do go on.” He swallows like he’d rather they were talking about anything, even his own demise.   


Okay, maybe not that.

But he isn’t backing down, cause it’s Ezri. Her lip quirks sadly. “Probably won’t be able to have children through a pregnancy the way things currently are inside of me,” she explains. 

“Jadzia wanted a child with Worf,” Quark agrees. “But who could be mad at you for something like that, even the symbiote? Haven’t you had a lifetime of kids, more than one?”  


She pokes at the gagh a little to not have to look at anyone as she thinks about the past lives, about their children. 

“I’m angry about the lack of options, I guess,” she explains. “It’s my body.” She looks up at Julian and Quark in turns. “I want to have control over it, over its functions, like anyone else. It’s an expectation I had, even though I thought this might be my reality, because I’ve had trouble menstruating regularly.” She notes Quark swallowing uncomfortably again, and she welcomes someone else’s discomfort cause she’s not exactly comfortable either.  


“I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to try and get your body to change its mind on not leaving you that option,” Julian promises. It’s a selfless promise; there’s none of himself in the equation. That makes her feel a little better.   


“If anyone can do it, it’s you,” she says. 

Julian places his hand over hers warmly for a moment before getting up, already struck by a bit of inspiration. She sighs as he leaves.

“I heard you two broke up,” Quark says indelicately.  


“Kind of,” she says, scrunching up her face. “You could say that.”  


“And, I did,” he points out. She smiles at that, nodding quietly as she stares into her gagh. “What’s on your mind?” he can’t resist asking.

“You really like me, Quark,” she teases with a glance up. “You’re listening to all this talk without batting an eye.”  


“You’re right! I really, really like you,” Quark confirms.   


She laughs, touched and grateful for the distraction. A bartender is nothing if not good at distracting people from their troubles. It’s funny, too, to hear him say something affectionate, to know it’s true. He’s so unusual, a perfect example of Ferengi values, yet not a good example of a Ferengi at all.

“Prove it to me,” Ezri says, the glint of a love for games shining in her eyes again.

“Okay, ” Quark says smoothly, eyes glinting with his own love of a good, profitable gamble. All the same, he’s already starting to regret the situation. “I’ll bite,” he says.

“You will? How appropriate.” She pushes the plate toward him. He eyes the gagh, realizing what her intentions are as she gives it another small push. “I’ll have lunch with you sometime, if you try some of this chilled gagh.”

“Chilled?! Ugh,” he says, closing his eyes for a moment like the very idea is offensive, but it’s not like he’s never said anything offensive before.

She’s actually impressed when he does it, eyes closed again, mouth chewing, until she remembers that serpent worms are not far removed from tube grubs at all, in the grand scheme of this. 

She has miscalculated. But, it wasn’t a risk she hadn’t been willing to take.

“Chilled is a terrible way to prepare that,” he admonishes. “But, a worm is a worm, dear Ezri.” He gazes at her with curiosity about how she’ll want to proceed, his eyes showing the victory he’s felt he’s just won.  


She smirks. “You’re right. A worm _will_ always be a worm.” Might as well put him on the spot for his lack of morality behind the veneer of finesse he wears, one she kind of digs. 

He offers a dramatic gasp. “Ezri! I’m so surprised at you. You’re saying you won’t even give me a chance to prove how fun I can be?” He looks like he realizes it was a joke the whole time, even though he’d wished she meant it. He looks at her like he understands his place and what he actually deserves. 

“No,” she laughs, tugging the plate toward herself again to pick at the gagh some more, actually a little hungry. “I’m not saying that at all, Quark.”  


He’s more surprised than ever, big, blue eyes blinking. 


End file.
